Kevin Lerena


Kevin Lerena is a South African professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council bridgerweight title since 2024. Previously, he held the International Boxing Organization cruiserweight title from 2017 to 2021. At regional level, he has held multiple championships, including the South African title from 2015 to 2017.

Professional career

Early career

Lerena made his professional debut against Justice Siliga on 30 November 2011, and won the fight by a second-round knockout. He amassed a 12–1 record during the next four years, before challenging Deon Coetzee for the South African cruiserweight title. He beat Coetzee by unanimous decision. He made his first and only title defense against Johnny Muller on 24 April 2016. He won the fight by a tenth-round technical knockout.

Lerena vs. Bolonti

Lerena faced the one-time WBA World light heavyweight title challenger Roberto Bolonti on 11 June 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 97–93, 97–93 and 96–94.

Lerena vs. Nielsen

Lerena faced the undefeated Micki Nielsen on 22 October 2016. He won the fight by majority decision. Two judges scored the bout 96–95 and 97–93 in his favor, while the third judge scored it as a 95–95 draw.
Lerena fought Vikapita Meroro on 4 February 2017. He won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout. Meroro appeared to go down easy, while led fight promoter Rodney Berman to withhold his purse and state: "He quit, plain and simple".
Lerena fought Sergio Ramirez on 23 April 2017. He won the fight by unanimous decision, after the eight scheduled rounds were contested. It was the first time in three years that Lerena was scheduled to fight less than ten rounds.

IBO cruiserweight champion

Lerena vs. Kalenga

Lerena was scheduled to face Maxim Maslov for the vacant IBO cruiserweight title on 12 August 2017, at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. On 25 July, Maslov announced his withdrawal from the bout due to a recurring injury. He was replaced by the former WBC Continental cruiserweight champion Olanrewaju Durodola. Durodola later withdrew from the bout as well, and was replaced by the former interim WBA Cruiserweight titlist Youri Kalenga. As Kalenga stepped in on ten days notice, the fight itself was postponed for 9 September 2017. Lerena won the fight by split decision, with two judges awarding him 116–113 and 115–113 scorecards, while the third judge scored it 117–111 for Kalenga. Kalenga threw a great volume of hooks and power punches in the early rounds, which were awarded to him on all three of the judges cards. Lerena was able to rally in the mid rounds however, and did enough to edge the fight in his favor.

Lerena vs. Kucher

Lerena made the first defense of his IBO title against the #13 ranked WBC cruiserweight contender Dmytro Kucher. The bout was scheduled as the headliner of the Emperors Palace fight card, which was held on 3 March 2018. Fight promoter Golden Gloves announced that the winner of the title fight would face Roman Golovashchenko just six weeks later. Lerena won the fight by a wide unanimous decision, with two judges awarding him eleven of the twelve contested rounds, while the third judge scored the fight 117–111 for Lerena.
True to their word, promoter Golden Gloves scheduled Lerena to face Roman Golovashchenko in his second IBO cruiserweight title defense. Lerena entered the bout as the #6 ranked WBC and #4 ranked IBF contender, while Golovashchenko wasn't at the time highly regarded by any of the four major boxing governing bodies. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 116–111, 115–112 and 115–112. Lerena scored the sole knockdown of the fight in the fifth round, dropping Golovashchenko with a left hand, although he was unable to finish his opponent.
In 2018 he tested positive for a banned substance by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association. He was cleared of any wrongdoing by the IBO on 2 February 2019.

Lerena vs. Mann

Lerena made the third defense of his IBO title against the undefeated Artur Mann. The fight was scheduled for 16 March 2019, to be contested at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. Lerena won the fight by a fourth-round technical knockout. He first knocked Mann down twice in the second round, with an uppercut and a flurry of punches. Mann was able to survive the third round, but was stopped by another flurry of punches in the fourth round, with 23 seconds left.

Lerena vs. Ducar

Lerena made his fourth IBO title defense against Vasil Ducar on 8 June 2019. As Ducar was vastly less experienced with only nine fights up to that point, and as he hadn't faced the same level of competition as Lerena, he came into the fight as a significant underdog. Lerena won the fight by a wide unanimous decision, with scores of 120–108, 119–109 and 117–111.

Lerena vs. Seferi

Lerena was scheduled to make his fifth IBO title defense against Sefer Seferi on 21 September 2019, at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. The 40-year old Seferi came into the fight as the #30 ranked IBO cruiserweight contender, and was seen as a large underdog. Lerena won the fight by a third-round technical knockout. He landed a left hook to the body, followed by a left hook to the head, which floored Seferi. As Seferi was unable to rise from the canvas, referee Jean Robert Laine decided to stop the fight.

Lerena vs. Arslan

Lerena made his sixth IBO title defense against the two-time WBO title challenger Firat Arslan on 8 February 2020, at the EWS Arena in Göppingen, Germany. He beat the 49-year old by a sixth-round technical knockout. Lerena staggered his opponent with a left hook, and landed a number of unanswered punches, which forced Arslan's corner to throw in the towel.

Heavyweight

Lerena faced Patrick Ferguson in a non-title, heavyweight bout on 19 December 2020, at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. The bout, as well as the entire card that it headlined, was broadcast on UFC Fight Pass. Lerena won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout.

Lerena vs. Dinu

Lerena faced Bogdan Dinu for the vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title on 26 March 2022. Lerena captured his first heavyweight title with a fourth-round knockout of Dinu.

Lerena vs. Wach

Lerena fought the one-time unified heavyweight title challenger Mariusz Wach on 17 September 2022, at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 120–108, 120–108, and 118–110.

WBA (Regular) heavyweight title challenge

Lerena vs. Dubois

Lerena challenged Daniel Dubois for the WBA heavyweight title on Dec 3, 2022 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. Both boxers trash talked during the final presser. Dubois weighed 240.25 pounds and Lerena came in at a lean 231 pounds. Although he was knocked down in the first round 3 times, Dubois prevailed and won by 3rd round technical knockout. Dubois was dropped by Lerena's left hand on all three occasions. Dubois still looked hurt going into round 2. In round 3, Dubois dropped Lerena with a massive right hand to the head. Dubois then landed several big uppercuts to put Lerena on the canvas as the bell rang. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight as Lerena picked himself up from the canvas.

Bridgerweight

Lerena vs. Merhy

Lerena faced the former WBA cruiserweight titleholder Ryad Merhy in a WBC bridgerweight title eliminator on 13 May 2023, at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 118–110, 116–112 and 115–113.

Lerena vs. Gashi

Lerena faced Senad Gashi for the vacant WBC interim bridgerweight title on 25 November 2023, at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 114–113, 118–109 and 117–110.

Return to heavyweight

Lerena vs. Huni

On 8 March 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Lerena was defeated by Justis Huni via unanimous decision.

WBC bridgerweight champion

Having been named mandatory challenger, Lerena became WBC bridgerweight champion on 8 October 2024, after Lawrence Okolie vacated the title.
He made the first defense of his title against Serhiy Radchenko at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa on 1 May 2025, winning by stoppage in the third round.

Lerena vs Okolie

Fighting at heavyweight, Lerena lost to Lawrence Okolie by unanimous decision at Wembley Stadium in London on 19 July 2025.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
35Loss31–4Lawrence OkolieUD1019 Jul 2025Wembley Stadium, London, EnglandFor WBC Silver heavyweight title
34Win31–3Serhiy RadchenkoTKO3 0:161 May 2025SunBet Arena, Pretoria, South AfricaRetained WBC bridgerweight title
33Loss30–3Justis HuniUD108 Mar 2024Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaFor vacant WBO Global heavyweight title
32Win30–2Senad GashiUD1225 Nov 2023Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaWon vacant WBC interim bridgerweight title
31Win29–2Ryad MerhyUD1213 May 2023Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaWon vacant WBC Silver bridgerweight title
30Loss28–2Daniel DuboisTKO3, 3:003 Dec 2022Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, EnglandFor WBA heavyweight title
29Win28–1Mariusz WachUD1017 Sep 2022Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaWon vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
28Win27–1Bogdan DinuKO4, 2:5926 Mar 2022Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaWon vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title
27Win26–1Patrick FergusonTKO5, 1:4919 Dec 2020Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
26Win25–1Firat ArslanTKO6, 1:138 Feb 2020EWS Arena, Göppingen, GermanyRetained IBO cruiserweight title
25Win24–1Sefer SeferiTKO3, 2:3021 Sep 2019Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaRetained IBO cruiserweight title
24Win23–1Vasil DucarUD128 Jun 2019Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaRetained IBO cruiserweight title
23Win22–1Artur MannTKO4, 2:3716 Mar 2019Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaRetained IBO cruiserweight title
22Win21–1Roman GolovashchenkoUD122 Jun 2018Sarhadci Olympic Center, Baku, AzerbaijanRetained IBO cruiserweight title
21Win20–1Dmytro KucherUD123 Mar 2018Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaRetained IBO cruiserweight title
20Win19–1Youri Kayembre Kalenga129 Sep 2017Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaWon vacant IBO cruiserweight title
19Win18–1Sergio RamirezUD823 Apr 2017Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
18Win17–1Vikapita MeroroTKO5, 1:074 Feb 2017Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
17Win16–1Micki Nielsen1022 Oct 2016Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
16Win15–1Roberto BolontiUD1011 Jun 2016Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
15Win14–1Johnny MullerTKO10, 3:0024 Apr 2016Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaRetained South African cruiserweight title;
Won vacant WBA Pan African cruiserweight title
14Win13–1Deon CoetzeeUD1230 Jul 2015Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaWon South African cruiserweight title
13Win12–1Igor PylypenkoUD614 Mar 2015Super Arena, Ballerup, Denmark
12Loss11–1Johnny MullerUD1015 Nov 2014Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
11Win11–0Gogita GorgiladzeKO3, 0:5829 Sep 2014Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South AfricaWon inaugural WBC Youth Silver cruiserweight title
10Win10–0Marcos Antonio AumadaUD89 Aug 2014Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
9Win9–0Big Ben Marcell MulumbaPTS622 Nov 2013Cape Sun Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
8Win8–0Ibrahim LabaranTKO2, 0:3021 Sep 2013Heartfelt Arena, Pretoria, South AfricaWon inaugural WBF Africa cruiserweight title
7Win7–0Khayeni Hlungwane627 Jul 2013North Town Hall, Pretoria, South Africa
6Win6–0Javier Corrales616 Feb 2013Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
5Win5–0Jean Lutete KambaTKO3, 2:2619 Nov 2012Cresta Shopping Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa
4Win4–0Alex MbayaTKO1, 2:114 Oct 2012Turffontein Racecourse, Johannesburg, South Africa
3Win3–0Lucas Jere1, 0:5316 Jun 2012Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
2Win2–0Gerson SingoKO1, 2:5926 Mar 2012Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa
1Win1–0Justice Siliga2, 2:4330 Nov 2011Emperors Palace, Kempton Park, South Africa